Kosmos

Culture, travel, fashion and culinary delights: the Kosmos pages of Lufthansa Magazin bring you interesting and useful tidbits from around the world

Refreshing Cities

How about a city break in the summer? Our expert knows some attractive outdoor swimming pools in top metropolitan locations across Europe.

Elegant bathing

Who invented it? Probably the people of Zurich.They have certainly kept urban bathing alive with wonderful floating bathing areas called Badis in the Limmat River and Lake Zurich. A favorite is the Frauenbadi, established in 1888 for women only. It does admit men in the evening.

Danish style

The Danish take on the Zurich concept can be found in Copenhagen harbor, hence the name, Havnebad (harbor baths). Iceland’s Brygge is the biggest and best-known harbor bathing area,
but the Copencabana has the most original name.

Left Bank Location

Not in, but at least near the Seine River, the Piscine Joséphine Baker in Paris has a 25-meter pool atop a pontoon moored beside Quai François Mauriac. While you swim, you can admire the four impressive glass towers of the French National Library right next door.

Culture clash

Just follow your nose? The sense of smell tends to be undervalued in the West but has a high status in many other cultures:

SMELL THE BABY

The Serer-Ndut people in Senegal believe in reincarnation and that a child’s scent reveals which ancestor has been reborn. The matter is settled if there’s a resemblance.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE NOSE

“How is your nose” is the common greeting used by the Ongee people. Smell is the prime sense for the Andaman islanders in Southeast Asia, and their calendar is dictated by the blossoming periods of certain flowers.

LISTEN TO THE FLOWERS

Smell? Hearing? For the Dogon in Mali these two senses overlap, with language having an odor and flowers a sound. They love the sound/scent of onions, which both sexes rub over their bodies.

Razor sharp

Songs like “Mr. Brightside” and “Human” catapulted The Killers to the higher echelons of independent rock. The band from Las Vegas is touring with its latest – and fifth – album. Catch The Killers on February 27 in Berlin and March 5 in Cologne.

Good Start

Been there, done that! Many airports are now offering a wider choice of wellness services.

DOWNWARD DOG

Long-haul flights can play havoc with your ­muscles. Yoga is a great way of limbering up again. Several airports have designated yoga rooms, including Frankfurt, San Francisco, Dallas and Chicago.

HOT STEAM

Fancy working up a sweat en route? Head to the airport saunas in the Finnish cities of Helsinki and Kuusamo, where you cool down afterwards on a terrace with a view of the apron.

BEAUTY ON THE GO

Depart and arrive looking ab fab: Be Relax beauty spas offer manicures, pedicures, hair styling and facial treatments, and are opening up at airports all over the world, including Singapore, Frankfurt and New York.